Launch of New Pacific Health Partnership Framework

The document addresses the significant gaps in Western approaches that prioritise outcomes and efficiency and are rooted in Eurocentric, colonial paradigms. Instead, the guiding principle of the framework is that programs must be genuinely co-designed with and be responsive to Pacific peoples, values, and realities. 

For the Pacific, success and sustainability in programs is rooted in justice, respect, safety, beneficence, collaboration, and relationships. The PARcific approach has four main pillars: democratisation of research, reciprocity, reflexivity, and shared power, drawing on decades of collaborative work between WHO CCNMH UTS, SPCNMOA, and a broad network of researchers, nursing leaders, educators, and practitioners across the region. 

As population health demands evolve, there is growing need to strengthen equitable regulatory frameworks, develop nursing and midwifery leadership, and build more resilient health workforces. The framework provides nursing and midwifery leaders, program implementers, and regional and national institutions with a shared foundation. Importantly, it positions Pacific nurses and midwives as co-designers and knowledge holders, rather than as recipients of externally developed programs.

WHO CCNMH UTS remains committed to supporting its implementation alongside SPCNMOA and Pacific partners in the years ahead. The WHOCCNMH partnership approach to working in the Pacific was also recently recognised with a UTS Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Partnerships, acknowledging the depth and quality of the collaborative relationships that made it possible.